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Real estate on Wall Street, Main Street and your street.Thu, 22 Feb 2018 01:01:06 +0000en-UShourly1https://www.redfin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/12/favicon@3x.pngRedfin Real-Timehttps://www.redfin.com/blog
3232Seattle and Honolulu Move up the Ranks of the Best Cities for Public Transit in 2018https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/seattle-and-honolulu-move-up-the-ranks-of-the-best-cities-for-public-transit-in-2018.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/seattle-and-honolulu-move-up-the-ranks-of-the-best-cities-for-public-transit-in-2018.html#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 12:00:38 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61468New York, San Francisco and Boston top the list of the 10 best cities for public transit according to new Transit Score® rankings by Redfin

New York, San Francisco and Boston top the list of the 10 best cities for public transit according to the updated Transit Score® rankings by Redfin. Transit Score, a tool by Redfin company Walk Score®,rates locations based on how convenient they are to public transportation. Each of the top three cities has a Transit Score above 70, meaning it has an excellent transit rating, with transit being a convenient option for most trips.

While the rank order for the six best cities for public transit has stayed the same since 2012 when Transit Score first launched, there was a lot of movement at the bottom of the top-10 list.

In 7th place, Seattle has a Transit Score of 59.6, up 2.6 points since 2016, the biggest jump among the top 10. In the past two years, Seattle has expanded its Link light rail service, adding two new stations in 2016, making it easier and faster to get to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington. A 2017 survey by the Seattle Department of Transportation found that public transit use had increased by 48 percent in the past seven years.

“Seattle is not only the coolest city in the country – we are now one of the most transit-friendly cities,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. “For our visitors, commuters and residents, public transit is safe, affordable, and a vital component in making sure our city is accessible to all. With the opening of new light rail stations and one of the highest bus riderships in the country, Seattle is making significant strides towards becoming a world-class transit city.”

Honolulu gained 1.6 points of Transit Score since 2016 and entered the top 10 list for the first time, replacing Miami. More than 69 million passengers in Honolulu ride TheBus annually and the city is planning a new rail system to further improve public transportation.

“Honolulu has been a public transportation city for many years now and the fact that our residents and visitors use TheBus an average of 214,000 trips every weekday is a testament to this fact,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “The new Transit Score ranking announced today by Redfin is proof that the nearly 2,000 workers who keep our bus system running strive for excellence each and every day, and our commitment to a transit system that covers all of O‘ahu will only improve once our rail project begins service along our busiest and most populated corridor.”

Below is a ranking of the top 10 U.S. cities (with populations of more than 300,000) for public transit.

Washington D.C. had the largest decrease among all major cities in Transit Score, dropping 2.2 points to 68.5 in 2018. The decrease can be attributed to changes in Metrobus and Metrorail scheduling, where some bus routes were discontinued and the frequency of trains during rush hour was lowered.

“Once touted as the gold standard for public transit, D.C.’s Metro is now reckoning with decades of deferred maintenance,” said Redfin Washington D.C. agent John Marcario. “Tough decisions to reduce service and shut down lines for extended periods for repair are causing short-term frustration, but will hopefully make the system better in the long run. Despite the fall in Transit Score, access to transit remains a top priority for D.C. home buyers, who are still willing to pay a premium to live near a metro station.”

With the addition of 600 new U.S. cities and more than 4,000 new neighborhoods, Transit Score ratings are now available for more than 900 cities and nearly 15,000 neighborhoods on walkscore.com. Among the newly added cities are big ones like Jacksonville, FL (22.4) and Charlotte, NC (27.4), along with smaller cities with Transit Score ratings like Hartford, CT (54.2) and Syracuse, NY (44.1).

The Transit Score algorithm calculates a score by summing the relative usefulness of public transit (bus, subway, light rail, ferry, etc.) routes near a given location. Usefulness is defined as the distance to the nearest stop on the route, the frequency of the route, and type of route (with twice as much weight given to heavy/light rail than to bus service). Transit Score is based on data published in General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format by transit agencies across the country. For a more details on the Transit Score methodology, click here.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/seattle-and-honolulu-move-up-the-ranks-of-the-best-cities-for-public-transit-in-2018.html/feed0Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern Home Once Owned by Debbie Reynolds Can be Yours for $665Khttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/palm-springs-mid-century-modern-home-once-owned-by-debbie-reynolds-can-be-yours-for-665000.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/palm-springs-mid-century-modern-home-once-owned-by-debbie-reynolds-can-be-yours-for-665000.html#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 17:01:50 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61403A renovated Mid-century home situated in the historic Racquet Club Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs hit the market today for $665,000.

A renovated Mid-century home situated in the historic Racquet Club Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs hit the market today for $665,000. Built in 1959 by the Alexander Construction Company, the home is one of 2,200 houses that helped propel Palm Springs into an enclave of mid-century modern architecture. In 1963, the three-bedroom, two-bath property caught the attention of late actress Debbie Reynolds, who reportedly purchased it for her parents Raymond Francis and Maxene Reynolds. Debbie’s children, Todd and Carrie Fisher, were five and seven years old at the time and are said to have visited their grandparents at the home often.

Though it’s changed hands three times since then, the home’s mid-century modern features, like post-and-beam ceilings and clerestory windows, have been beautifully preserved.

The most recent owners, Josh and Leigh Anne, started looking for a vacation home in 2015. They live in Los Angeles and wanted a mid-century modern home in Palm Springs that would be a quick drive away. Unfortunately, finding one that retained its original mid-century modern details was more difficult than they’d anticipated, as many homes in that area were totally redone in the 80s. After a year of searching, the couple purchased the home and was ready to give it the TLC it needed.

“My wife and I fell in love with the home’s architecture and idyllic surroundings,” said Josh. “It had that original character that it would have back in 1959 and that’s what we were looking for. And the location was great for us. It’s a quick two-hour drive from LA, so we could pack our bags, take our dog and be transported into this awesome desert oasis.”

The home now has an updated kitchen, complete with quartz countertops, glass tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances. The couple also remodeled both bathrooms, and gave the interior and exterior fresh coats of paint.

Polished concrete floors help keep the home cool in the summer and easy to clean when guests enter and exit to use the pool. The home also has a new front door, HVAC system, tankless water heater and pool heater, in addition to other upgrades.

The house sits on a 10,000-square-foot lot and features a sparkling pool, drought-tolerant landscaping, including palm trees and an orange tree, and grass in the backyard. It sits directly across from Victoria Park and is just two miles from downtown Palm Springs.

“This is a rare opportunity to live in a Krisel-designed, Alexander-constructed home that’s been well preserved,” said Roddy de la Garza, the Redfin agent selling the home. “With mountain views, a celebrity history, swimming pool and sunny mid-century modern aesthetics, it’s the quintessential Palm Springs home.”

Want to see the home in person? Book a tour here or come by one of our open houses, set to debut during the buzz of Palm Springs’ annual Modernism Week on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and Wed. Feb 21. Check Redfin for exact times.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/palm-springs-mid-century-modern-home-once-owned-by-debbie-reynolds-can-be-yours-for-665000.html/feed0Strong January Home Price Growth and Declining Inventory Signal Another Competitive Spring for Homebuyershttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/market-tracker-january-2018.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/market-tracker-january-2018.html#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 12:55:42 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61366Home Sales Fell in January after Tax Reform Uncertainty Caused Some Buyer Hesitation at Year End

Home prices increased 7.8 percent year over year to a national median sale price of $280,500 in January. Sales were down 7.9 percent annually as the ongoing inventory shortage showed no signs of ending. The number of homes for sale in January dropped by 14.4 percent, the largest year-over-year decline in 28 consecutive months of falling supply.

The typical home that sold in January found a buyer after 53 days on the market, six days faster than January 2017. The percentage of homes that sold above list (19.2%) and the average sale to list price ratio (97.8%) were both up slightly compared to January of last year, setting the stage for a spring market that could be even more competitive than last year.

“Sales volume is typically lowest in January, so while sales fell further than normal, it is not a major cause for concern,” said Redfin senior economist Taylor Marr. “Redfin agents in high-tax states reported that some buyers were hesitant in November and December given the uncertainty around tax reform, which passed in late December. This uncertainty contributed to the drop in January home sales. Potential move-up buyers are now reassessing whether it makes sense to list their homes in the face of higher mortgage rates and less favorable tax treatment for their next home. Some buyers have determined lower deductions may be offset by other tax cuts, but those tax cuts won’t hit buyers’ paychecks for a couple months.”

Redfin agents report eagerness among buyers to purchase a home before mortgage rates inch up further and prices rise any higher– if they can find a home they want to buy.

“Many buyers are concerned about interest rates, but the biggest driver of this market is inventory, not rates,” said Redfin Washington, D.C., agent Joe Krupsaw. “None of my clients have said they’ll change their plans to buy if rates increase. I think when rates hit 4.5 percent we’ll see some buyers reassess their budgets and what they can afford, but they won’t stop looking for a home.”

Just 6 percent of respondents to a recent survey commissioned by Redfin said they would cancel their home buying plans if rates rose above 5 percent. Twenty-seven percent said it would cause them to slow their search, 25 percent said it would have no impact, 21 percent said it would increase their urgency to buy, and another 21 percent said they would look for a less expensive home.

Market Summary

January 2018

Month-Over-Month

Year-Over-Year

Median sale price

$280,500

-2.0%

7.8%

Homes sold

157,400

-29.4%

-7.9%

New listings

232,600

56.9%

-0.2%

All Homes for sale

570,800

-1.7%

-14.4%

Median days on market

53

4

-6

Months of supply

3.6

1

-0.3

Sold above list

19.2%

-0.7%

0.5%

Average Sale-to-list

97.8%

-0.2%

0.1%

San Jose Homes Sold a Month Faster than Last Year

For yet another month, San Jose was the fastest and most competitive market in the country. The typical home found a buyer in 12 days, 30 days fewer than last January. San Jose homes sold for an average of 9 percent over the asking price, which is the highest sale-to-list price ratio Redfin has recorded in that metro area.

“Buyers in San Jose have shown a complete disregard for recent comparable offers and are coming in swinging in order to win a home,” said Redfin Silicon Valley agent Kalena Masching. “It has gotten to the point where buyers are submitting preemptive offers that are so good it’s not worth the seller to wait for an official offer deadline or the first open house.”

The most competitive market in January was San Jose, CA where 75.5% of homes sold above list price, followed by 62.2% in Oakland, CA, 60% in San Francisco, CA, 41.7% in Seattle, WA, and 37.6% in Tacoma, WA.

Prices

Memphis, TN had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 24.6% since last year to $162,000. San Francisco, CA had the second highest growth at 23.8%, followed by San Jose, CA (21.6%), Baton Rouge, LA (17.8%), and Seattle, WA (15.4%).

Only 11 out of 73 metros saw positive sales growth in January from last year. Salt Lake City, UT led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 11.9%, followed by Greenville, SC, up 11.8%. Kansas City, MO rounded out the top three with sales up 7.5% from a year ago.

Michigan metro areas saw the largest declines in sales since last year, led by Detroit, MI where sales declined 29.7%. Home sales in Grand Rapids, MI and Warren, MI declined by 29.1% and 28.4%, respectively.

Inventory

San Jose, CA had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 43.6% since last January. Rochester, NY (-37.5%), Buffalo, NY (-37.1%), and Atlanta, GA (-35.4%) also saw far fewer homes available on the market than a year ago.

Only two metro areas had increases in the number of homes for sale in January: Baton Rouge, LA (16.7%) and Honolulu, HI (7.6%).

Methodology

The Redfin Real-Time Housing Market Tracker is a monthly analysis of home prices, competition, sales volumes and inventory levels across the markets that Redfin serves nationwide. The analysis is based on data from the Multiple Listing Services of which Redfin is a member. The monthly data may change after publishing as additional real estate transactions are recorded.

Below are market-by-market breakdowns for prices, inventory, new listings and sales for markets with populations of 750 thousand or more. For downloadable data on all of the markets Redfin tracks, visit the Redfin Data Center.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/market-tracker-january-2018.html/feed0Redfin Survey: Just 6% of Homebuyers Would Cancel Plans to Buy if Mortgage Rates Surpassed 5%https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/if-mortgage-rates-surpassed-5.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/if-mortgage-rates-surpassed-5.html#respondMon, 12 Feb 2018 13:00:44 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61340A late-2017 Redfin-commissioned survey of more than 4,000 people revealed that only 6% of homebuyers said they would cancel their plans if mortgage rates surpassed 5%, among other key findings.

A late-2017 Redfin-commissioned survey of more than 4,000 people who bought or sold a home last year, attempted to do so, or planned to do so soon revealed the following key findings related to the housing market and the economy:

Only 6% of homebuyers said they would cancel their plans if mortgage rates surpassed 5%.

The tax reform debate may have fueled anxiety as high taxes were the most common economic concern, cited by 38% of respondents.

77% said they expect home prices in their area to rise in the next year.

This is the second in a series of three reports Redfin will issue based on the survey. The first, focused on politics and society, is here.

Just 6% of homebuyers said they would cancel their plans to buy if mortgage rates surpassed 5%.

Prospective buyers were unfazed by the prospect of rising mortgage rates. As mentioned in Redfin’s 2018 predictions, mortgage rates are expected to rise in the coming year. After hovering below 4 percent at the end of 2017, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surpassed 4 percent in January and has been steadily rising, reaching 4.32 percent at the time of this report’s publication.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents who plan to buy a home in the coming year said that a 5 percent mortgage rate would slow their plans to buy, down two points from responses to a similar question in May.

Only 6 percent of respondents who plan to buy a home in the coming year said that a 5 percent mortgage interest rate would halt their plans to buy, a modest one-point increase from responses to a similar question in May. Meanwhile, 21 percent said they would look in other areas or buy a smaller home, up three points from May. A quarter said such a hike would have no impact on their plans, consistent with our last survey.

The late-2017 tax reform debate may have fueled anxiety as high taxes were the most common economic concern, cited by 38% of respondents.

When the survey launched in early November, a Senate tax reform bill proposed a complete repeal of state and local tax deductions. At that time, there was a great deal of uncertainty about whether and how legislation would change, and how the possible changes would affect different individuals, particularly those who were in the process of buying or selling a home. Final changes to tax code for 2018 resulted in a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions.

When asked about concerns facing the U.S. economy, the most oft-cited response was high taxes, with 38 percent choosing it among their top three concerns. Affordable housing ranked second at 33 percent, followed by the income gap between the rich and poor, as cited by 28 percent of respondents.

Not surprisingly, respondents in California, where residents pay among the highest state, local and property taxes in the country, were even more likely to name high taxes as a top concern, cited by 43 percent of San Franciscans, 45 percent of San Diegans and 42 percent of Sacramento-based respondents. Surprisingly, less than one-third of Los Angelenos cited high taxes as a top concern, though it was still the most common response, followed closely by affordable housing with 30 percent of respondents.

By contrast, affordable housing was the most frequently cited economic concern among respondents in other parts of the country including Seattle (45%) and Portland (44%), where the income gap between the rich and poor ranked second and high taxes ranked third. Affordable housing also ranked highest among Denver-based respondents (46%), with high taxes following behind (30%).

In 2018, we expect tax reform to accelerate the migration pattern we saw last year, away from expensive coastal cities and toward more affordable inland communities.

77% of respondents said they expect home prices in their area to rise in the next year.

The vast majority of respondents agreed that home prices will continue to rise in 2018. Only 6 percent of respondents said they expect any decline in prices, and only 1 percent said they expect prices to fall significantly. Most respondents (52%) said they expect prices to rise slightly, while another 25 percent said they expect a significant increase in prices and 17 percent said they expect no change at all.

“Tight credit, lack of inventory and high demand are the major factors that tell us there’s no housing bubble, despite rapid price increases,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “There are still many more buyers than the current housing supply can support, with no major relief in sight. Strict lending regulations make it much harder to buy a house you can’t afford than during the housing boom a decade ago. Finally, still-low interest rates somewhat offset high prices for some buyers.”

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/if-mortgage-rates-surpassed-5.html/feed0Affordable Inland Metros Drew People from San Francisco, New York and Los Angeleshttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/q4-migration-report.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/q4-migration-report.html#respondWed, 07 Feb 2018 13:00:30 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61304The fourth quarter of 2017 saw migration from expensive, high-tax coastal markets to metros where taxes are lower and housing is more affordable.

The fourth quarter of 2017 saw people in expensive, high-tax coastal markets like San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, search for homes in metros like Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Nashville where taxes are lower and housing is more affordable. This is a continuation of a trend we saw throughout the past year, but what was new last quarter was that the topic of taxes and tax reform came in conversations Redfin agents had with people looking to move away from the aforementioned coastal markets and into fast-growing mid-tier metros. We expect that in 2018, this migration pattern will intensify as tax reform becomes a reality and more people choose to relocate in search of a lower cost of living. Our migration analysis is based on a sample of more than 1 million Redfin.com users searching for homes across 75 metro areas from October through December 2017.

Among the 22 percent of Redfin.com home searchers who looked to move to another metro area in the fourth quarter, the following key trends emerge:

Fast-growing, mid-tier metros in the Sunbelt, including Phoenix and Las Vegas, and the South, including Atlanta and Nashville, had the highest net inflows.

Seattle saw more users looking to leave than to move to the area for the first time since we began tracking this data at the beginning of 2017.

Moving Out – Metros with the Highest Net Outflow of Users

Tax reform limiting homeowners’ combined property tax and SALT deduction that Congress was proposing, debating and signing into law at the end of 2017 may have begun to influence migration patterns as seen in users’ search behavior in the fourth quarter. Tax savings are just one factor in people’s decisions to move, but they may play a larger role in the pursuit of affordability going forward.

“People leaving coastal hubs in search of affordability has been a consistent trend for the last five years,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Late last year there was a twist. Many of the popular migration paths that we saw Redfin.com users exploring yielded tax benefits along with increased affordability. We expect these trends to continue and will be monitoring them closely in 2018.”

By comparing annual property, state and local tax burdens from the 2016 Tax Rates and Tax Burdens in the District of Columbia: A Nationwide Comparison report, we’re able to estimate what a move from one metro to another might entail from a tax perspective. For example, 18.2 percent of all Redfin.com searches for homes in Las Vegas in the fourth quarter came from Los Angeles; a family earning $150,000 who made this move could save $7,785 in taxes and would likely pay less for a similar home, given that the typical home in Las Vegas costs about $333,000 less than in Los Angeles. Similarly, the 9 percent of New Yorkers looking to leave who considered Atlanta might save $5,809 in taxes and benefit from around $161,000 lower median home sale price.

“Lower taxes and more affordable housing have historically drawn Californians away from the coast to places like Nevada and Arizona,” said Heidi Ludwig, a Redfin Agent in Hermosa Beach. “The recent changes in tax law have been coming up in my conversations with prospective home sellers. Last year, several of my home-selling clients followed their employer, Toyota, to its new facility in Plano, Texas. I expect to see more people move in the same direction this year, but for different reasons including taxes and overall affordability.”

Seattle showed a negative net outflow in the fourth quarter, a first since we began tracking migration patterns at the beginning of 2017. Among local users who were looking to leave, 10.6 percent were eyeing Los Angeles, followed by Bellingham, Wash., Portland and Phoenix, each of which captured at least 8 percent of Seattleites looking to leave.

Table: Top 10 Metros by Net Outflow of Users and Their Top Destinations

*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in Q4 2017
†Among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

Moving In – Metros with the Highest Net Inflow of Users

Metros in the Sun Belt (Phoenix and Las Vegas) and the South (Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville) were top destinations for home searches originating outside the local area, as we saw throughout 2017. These destination metros are noted for low state and local taxes compared the national average as well as lower median property taxes. San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York were the most common origins among users looking to relocate to these top destinations.

Over 43 percent of all searches for homes in the Las Vegas metro came from outside the area, drawing more out-of-towner attention than any other location in the analysis.

*Combined statistical areas with at least 500 users in Q4 2017
†Among the one million users sampled for this analysis only

Staying Put

Across the 75 metro areas in our analysis, 78 percent of Redfin.com users looked for homes within their current metro. As we saw throughout 2017, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D,C. and Seattle metro areas continued to inspire loyalty with about nine of 10 users searching for homes in their local area.

Throughout all of 2017, less than 14 percent of users in Raleigh, Portland, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Nashville, Chicago and Seattle looked to relocate.

As factors influencing people’s decisions regarding where to live evolve, Redfin search data reveals emerging migration patterns with home seekers shifting their search to lower-cost, second-tier markets and away from expensive coastal cities. We will continue to track migration using Redfin’s proprietary user dataset each quarter.

Find your Metro: On the below interactive map, select one metro area origin (or destination) to see the top 10 destinations (or origins) for that metro.

If you’d like more information about this analysis or its underlying data, please email press@redfin.com.

Methodology

Redfin analyzed a sample of more than 1 million Redfin.com users searching for homes across 75 metro areas from October through December. Users must have viewed at least 10 listings during the quarter. We also excluded locations that in aggregate represented less than 20 percent of a user’s searches. We determined the home metro by mapping the user’s IP address of the most common location they searched from. If a user was searching in more than one metro, we accounted for the share of searches in each metro. Combined Statistical Areas (as defined here) must have had at least 500 users either searching from or in that metro during the first quarter.

It’s worth noting that net inflow and outflow data does not account for Redfin’s market share or the population of metro areas. In metros where Redfin has a larger number of website visitors, we may have a higher volume of inbound and outbound searches than in metros that are smaller or where Redfin has a smaller user base. The U.S. Census Bureau measures net migration flows, which is a common practice when analyzing migratory patterns.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/q4-migration-report.html/feed0Redfin Survey: 15% of Respondents Sold Their Home or Did Not Buy Last Year Because of Worry Over Immigration Policieshttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/immigration-policies-caused-15percent-to-sell-or-not-buy.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/immigration-policies-caused-15percent-to-sell-or-not-buy.html#respondTue, 06 Feb 2018 13:00:43 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61265Redfin survey results reveal that some respondents sold their home or did not buy because of worry over immigration policies, millennials are migrating and more.

From November 1 to December 6, 2017, Redfin commissioned a survey of 4,270 U.S. residents in 14 metropolitan areas who bought or sold a home in the past year, attempted to do so, or planned to do so soon. The goal was to better understand the perspectives and experiences of people who were recently in the market to buy or sell a home.

This is the first in a series of three reports Redfin will issue based on the survey, focusing on results related to politics and society. Subsequent reports will focus on results about the economy, affordable housing and technology’s effect on the way people buy and sell homes.

Three major findings:

15% of respondents sold their home or did not buy because of worry over immigration policies.

18% of millennials who bought a home in the last year now live in the political minority in their new community.

37% of people of color felt they may have been discriminated against when trying to buy a home, down from 43% in May.

15% of respondents sold their home or did not buy because of restrictive immigration policies and proposals.

Eight percent of respondents said they sold their home in the last year because they were worried they wouldn’t be able to stay or work in the U.S. much longer. Seven percent did not purchase a home for the same reason.

“I’ve seen buyers finally get offers accepted, only to cancel the contracts,” said Gabriella Stwart, a Redfin agent in Bellevue, Washington. “We’re having conversations with professionals working at large companies who are eager to sell or not buying because their visas are expiring or close to it and might not be extended.”

The survey results reveal that housing markets in certain parts of the country are more likely to be affected by immigration policy. Among respondents in the Los Angeles area, 32.7 percent said they sold or did not buy a home because they were worried they wouldn’t be able to work or stay in the country much longer. In Baltimore, 18.5 percent said the same, as well as 16.8 percent in San Francisco.

18% of millennials who bought a home moved to a community where they were the political minority.

Eighteen percent of millennials who bought a home in the last year said they were among the political minority in their new community, 5 percentage points higher than Generation X and 12 points higher than Baby Boomers.

These results suggest that millennials may be more tolerant of political diversity. Younger people are also less likely than other age groups to be married with children, making cross country moves easier.

Forty-seven percent of millennials who bought a home last year said their employer lets them work remotely most of the time, 6 points higher than Gen X and 16 points higher than Baby Boomers. Asked how their employer’s remote work policy affected their decision on where to move, these millennial buyers most commonly said they prioritized better weather (19%), more affordable homes (17.8%) and lower taxes (16.9%).

“Red states like Arizona and Texas where we’re seeing high levels of incoming migration from the coasts may turn purple someday soon, thanks in part to millennials on the move,” said Nela Richardson, Redfin chief economist. “As young people leave their comfort zones in search of affordable housing, the result will be a less politically polarized country over time.”

37% of people of color felt they may have been discriminated against when trying to buy a home, down from 43% in May.

Fewer people of color who purchased a home, or tried to do so, said they felt that a seller was less eager to work with them because of race than in our May 2017 survey. In our year-end survey, 37 percent of African American, Arab American, East/South Asian American, Latino/Latina, and Native American respondents who bought or tried to buy a home in the last year said they felt that sellers or their agents were less eager or may have been less eager to work with them because of their ethnicity or race, compared to 43 percent in May.

“The two data points we have about the perception of discrimination in housing reveal just a snapshot of what amounts to a short moment in our country’s long history of racial inequality in housing, and change in the actual incidence of such discrimination is likely to happen only slowly over many years,” said Nela Richardson, Redfin chief economist. “It’s more likely that that the trend we see in this snapshot reveals an aberration last year around the contentious Presidential election, when racial tensions and anxiety about discrimination were heightened. However, when it comes to where people can live, work and go to school, the idea that more than a third of people of color buying a home still don’t believe that their money is as good as anyone else’s is a massive problem.”

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/immigration-policies-caused-15percent-to-sell-or-not-buy.html/feed0Wildfires Threaten $1.5 Trillion Worth of Homes in the United Stateshttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/wildfires-threaten-1-5-trillion-worth-of-homes-in-the-united-states.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/wildfires-threaten-1-5-trillion-worth-of-homes-in-the-united-states.html#respondMon, 05 Feb 2018 13:00:34 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61234According to a Redfin report, Wildfires threaten $1.5 trillion worth of homes in the United States

Redfin agents report that homebuyers in California’s recent wildfire zones are mostly undeterred and plan to stay in the area.

Recent mudslides in California are the latest wildfire-related disaster to plague high-risk counties.

Wildfires have roared across the western United States for years, but a recent uptick in the frequency and intensity of the fires* has put some of the most desirable homes at risk. While only representing four percent of U.S. properties, the homes at moderate-to-severe risk of wildfires tend to also be in some of the country’s most coveted and expensive counties. The homes at risk account for 7.7 percent or $1.5 trillion, a disproportionately large portion of U.S. housing value. But local real estate agents say the wildfire risk is not deterring homebuyers from continuing to put down roots in these communities.

“People who are still in shock from losing their homes and possessions from the October fires are greeting one another at open houses while comparing notes on the hotels or rentals where they are temporary living,” said Redfin Santa Rosa agent Starling Scholz. “People view wildfire risk as a price of living in California that’s well worth the rewards: beautiful weather, nature and well-paying jobs.”

Below are the top 10 counties for risk of wildfire destruction, ranked according to the estimated total value of homes at risk. To be considered, there had to have been at least five major fires recorded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the county since 1960. Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Clara counties top the list, which is dominated by California counties. The only non-California counties to make the list were Harris and Dallas counties in Texas and Clark county in Nevada. California is so predominant in the ranking not only because of the state’s high frequency of wildfires, but also because of its desirable, expensive housing markets. If demand for homes in these places doesn’t subside, we’re likely to see inventory shortages and affordability crises in these places will likely continue as wildfires inevitably destroy more homes each year.

“Restrictive zoning and underbuilding make wildfires even more damaging for homeowners and renters in affected areas. Despite strong demand and severe inventory shortages, California has built the fewest number of homes per new resident of any state, with just one unit for every four new residents, compared to one new unit for every 1.8 new residents nationally,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “When people whose homes just burned down are jumping back into bidding wars to buy new homes in the same area, you know wildfires alone won’t cool these competitive markets. However, California’s chronic lack of homes and eroding affordability make recovering from a natural disaster much more challenging than in states like Texas with more adequate housing supply.“

“I was touring with clients last month, and in the 15 minutes it took to see the home, our cars were completely covered in ash from nearby wildfires,” said Venti. “The homebuyers were not fazed. If anything, people are more often deterred from buying homes in this area by high gas prices and high taxes than wildfires.”

For the people who are still interested in buying homes in wildfire zones, Venti has some advice.

“It’s important to get a fire insurance quote before falling in love with a home,” he said. “We’ve had people and properties receive exorbitantly high quotes for fire insurance. Others were flat-out denied coverage because the home was too risky or the buyer had a large outstanding claim from a previous fire. California FAIR Plan property insurance may be able to provide insurance for homes that have been denied coverage.”

Curious about wildfires in your state? Click here to see a data visualization of wildfire likelihood and the value of the housing markets at risk.

Methodology

Using data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the prevalence of fires in each county since 1960, we estimated the relative risk of fires by county across the United States. Data on the annual number of acres burned from wildfires are available from the National Interagency Fire Center. County-level estimates on the number of households, total and median value of all owner-occupied homes are from the American Community Survey for 2016 (5-year estimates). The rankings were based on the total value of homes in a county that were also at risk of wildfires affording to FEMA data. Places that had higher total home value ranked higher.

*Climate research from the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that wildfires are increasing and wildfire season is getting longer in the Western U.S. because of increasing temperatures. The theory is that with global temperatures rising, mountain snow melts earlier in the season and forests stay drier for longer. Dry forests are more susceptible to burning, and high winds help the fires travel across the state. If temperatures in the western U.S. increase at the rate scientists are expecting in the next 20 to 30 years, there’s an even larger window of time for wildfires to spark and spread each year.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/wildfires-threaten-1-5-trillion-worth-of-homes-in-the-united-states.html/feed0Redfin Data Helps Fuel Wealthfront’s Home Buying Guidehttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/redfin-data-helps-fuel-wealthfronts-home-buying-guide.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/redfin-data-helps-fuel-wealthfronts-home-buying-guide.html#respondThu, 01 Feb 2018 18:46:38 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61217A new Home Planning Guide from Wealthfront aims to help prospective home buyers at every stage of the process, and it's powered by Redfin data.

Whether you’re thinking about buying your first home or upgrading to something different based on life changes, there can be a lot of unknowns. For some it’s hard to know when and how to start the planning process. For others who are closer to purchase, they might be wondering the impact of buying a home on their other important goals, like retirement.

Wealthfront, the automated financial planning and investing service, aims to answer those tough questions with their new Home Planning Guide, powered by data from Redfin.

No matter where you are in the home buying process, Wealthfront’s guide helps get you focused on the most important things to think about. For those just starting to think about a home, the guide helps you start preparing by breaking down the benefits of owning a home, as well as how to think about investing your savings when a purchase is more than five years away.

For those a within five years of a purchase, the guide spells out the all-in costs of owning home by location, using national and city-level data from Redfin. The guide also helps you compare owning to renting based on Redfin data that looks at both scenarios over a 10-year horizon. For those concerned that buying a home might get them off track of their other goals, Wealthfront helps you understand the tradeoffs, such how the size and cost of a home will affect your desired retirement lifestyle.

If you have more immediate needs and plan to make a purchase within the year, the guide dives into what it takes to qualify for a mortgage and what you should consider for a down payment. The guide also highlights the true costs of owning a home, so you can understand your total, one-time closing costs and what you’ll need all-in on a monthly basis. Because costs vary by market, Wealthfront uses data from Redfin that looks at national averages, as well as averages across New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. Of course, buying and selling a home with Redfin helps reduce closing costs. Because Redfin charges less than the typical commission, your total brokerage fee with Redfin is reduced, putting more money in your pocket to help decorate your new place.

Wealthfront developed the Home Planning Guide in conjunction with the launch of the home planning feature in Path, their automated financial planning solution. Like the guide, Path also uses Redfin data to help Wealthfront clients understand their total affordability and personalize their plan based on location and other parameters. Wealthfront is committed to helping their clients fully optimize and automate their finances, and their home planning experience and guide are important additions to helping people have a more holistic understanding of owning a home.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/02/redfin-data-helps-fuel-wealthfronts-home-buying-guide.html/feed0The State of the Union: What Role Does Housing Play?https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/three-ways-housing-helped-the-economy-in-2017-and-three-ways-white-house-policy-will-affect-the-housing-market-in-2018.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/three-ways-housing-helped-the-economy-in-2017-and-three-ways-white-house-policy-will-affect-the-housing-market-in-2018.html#respondWed, 31 Jan 2018 20:25:03 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61204The U.S. enjoyed the strongest housing market in a decade last year. But in a speech full of economic accolades, President Trump missed an opportunity for a pat on the back. Housing was not mentioned once in his first State of the Union address. Here are three ways housing helped the economy last year: 1. […]

The U.S. enjoyed the strongest housing market in a decade last year. But in a speech full of economic accolades, President Trump missed an opportunity for a pat on the back. Housing was not mentioned once in his first State of the Union address.

Here are three ways housing helped the economy last year:1. Unprecedented wealth for homeownersHomeowners enjoyed record-high home equity in 2017 thanks to strong home price growth and low interest rates. U.S. homeowners were able to withdraw nearly $54 billion dollars in the form of cash-out mortgages, second liens and home equity lines of credit. Home equity helped support consumer spending, a key driver of economic growth last year.2. A rising homeownership rateMore homeowners are now benefiting from this price appreciation as ownership has finally started to show perceptible increases from historical lows. In the last three months of 2017 the homeownership rate rose to 64.2 percent from 63.7 percent in the same period a year earlier. Even more good news, the elusive millennial first-time buyer showed up late last year. The homeownership rate for millennial households rose to 36 percent at the end of 2017 from 34.7 percent a year earlier. 3. Contribution to the bottom lineHousing‘s path has been rocky over the past decade. However, in recent years real estate has been a stable contributor to the U.S. economy. New construction accounts for about 3 percent of our economy. Housing services from existing homes add another 12 percent. Housing finished the year on strong footing in 2017. Residential investment grew by 11 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, a sign of a healthy housing market that adds to economic growth. In last night’s address President Trump also outlined his administration’s major policy initiatives.

Here are three ways we think White House policy will affect the housing market this year:The Good: Infrastructure SpendingDespite strong homebuyer demand, new construction continues to lag the 50-year post with an average of 1.5 million new homes started this year. Lack of supply and high demand means many buyers are battling rapidly growing prices. Median sale prices were up 6.8 percent in 2017 from a year earlier. In fast-growing metros like Seattle, San Jose, Denver and Orlando, home prices surged by double digits. Buyers are having to move farther from job centers to afford a home. Public investment, particularly in transit, is key to connecting farflung but affordable suburbs to urban job centers. The Bad: Restrictions on ImmigrationPresident Trump discussed three policy changes to immigration: a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants under the DACA program, an end to the visa lottery, and exchanging a preference for extended family with a merit-based system. Though we applaud amnesty for Dreamers, overall we view the Trump Administration’s proposed policy as more restrictive than current practice and potentially detrimental to the health of the housing market. Restrictive immigration policies would cut short housing’s recovery because immigration fuels home demand. Immigrants compose over a third of household growth and have been a key source of population increases in rural areas where domestic population has declined. In a 2017 study of 353 cities we showed a high immigrant population is highly correlated with housing wealth.The Unknown: Tax ReformA key pillar of President Trump’s economic plan is tax cuts. Right now we view the effect of tax changes on housing as mixed. On the one hand, middle-class families should see some money from the cut this year. At the same time homebuyers in high-tax states will no longer be able to fully deduct state and local taxes.This could lead prices to stagnate or even decline in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California. It’s too soon to tell what the effect of the Republican tax plan will be on the 2018 market.

President Trump stated in his State of the Union “There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.” Housing is a crucial part of the American dream that can’t be ignored.

]]>https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/three-ways-housing-helped-the-economy-in-2017-and-three-ways-white-house-policy-will-affect-the-housing-market-in-2018.html/feed0Boston vs. Philadelphia: A City Showdownhttps://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/boston-vs-philadelphia-a-city-showdown.html
https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/boston-vs-philadelphia-a-city-showdown.html#respondTue, 30 Jan 2018 16:00:25 +0000https://www.redfin.com/blog/?p=61160The Patriots may have the better Super Bowl record, but homeownership is more within reach in Philadelphia.

Boston and Philadelphia are two East Coast cities with a lot of history and patriotic spirit, and the competition between them is hot right now. Not only are the two preparing to duke it out in Super Bowl LII this Sunday, they’re also both on Amazon’s shortlist for the company’s new headquarters.

So… does Boston or Philly have more to offer its resident football fans? To find out, we first talked to Redfin real estate agents from each market to hear what they think about their cities. Here’s what they had to say:

“Philadelphia, the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ and former capital of the United States, is home to the nation’s first zoo and the oldest residential block in the country… not to mention rabid sports fans,” said Philadelphia Redfin agent Erik Lee. “Boston may have had their very own tea party, but this is where our country was founded. The perpetual underdogs in both fact and fiction, Philadelphians—for better or worse—stick by their teams through thick and thin. We may be going up against ‘The Hoodie’ and TB12, but my money rides the Birds’ front 7 and a 53-man roster with the heart of all the Rockys combined.”

“Can you guess which U.S. city tops lists every year for the most educated, healthy and entrepreneurial? Or how about the one that has the most recent professional sports championships? If you guessed Philadelphia, eat another cheesesteak!” said Boston Redfin agent James Gulden. “Boston is the home of the Patriots, the winning-est NFL team in the modern era. They’ll be playing for their sixth championship when they appear in their 10th super bowl — their eighth appearance within the last 17 years. Holy chowder! Philadelphia might have Rocky Balboa, ‘The Italian Stallion’, but Boston has Bill ‘The Hood’ Belichick. Game On!”

Cheesesteaks…chowder…we can’t decide! For a more objective look at both cities, we pulled data from sources like Yelp, U.S. Census and Redfin.com. Here’s what we found out about life in these rival cities.

Philadelphians are More Likely to Own Homes

If you’re tired of the renter life and want to put down roots, Philly is the better city. Fifty-four percent of homes in Philadelphia are owner occupied, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. In Boston, only 34 percent of homes are occupied by the owners, while the majority are rented out.

…Probably Because Homes There are More Affordable

It’s not surprising to see that more people are renting in Boston. The cost of the median home there is $635,000— that’s 111 percent higher than the median home price in Philly, which is $185,000. In addition to having more affordable homes, Philadelphia also has a bigger selection of homes. There are currently 4,706 homes for sale in Philly on Redfin.com, compared to 702 in Boston.

Even Though Philly is Bigger, You Get More Space in Boston

Philadelphia is larger than Boston in both in population and geographics. The city is 141.7 mi² with a population of 1,526,006 according to 2010 Census data, compared to Boston’s 89.63 mi² and population of 617,594. But—you actually get a little more square footage in Boston. The average Boston home that sold last year was 1,696 ft² compared to 1,334 ft² in Philadelphia. More room for all those Tom Brady jerseys!

When It Comes To Walkability, Boston Wins (But Not By Much)

If your preferred method of transportation is walking or riding your bike, both cities are great! However, Boston does have a slight edge on Philly in all three categories: Walk Score, Bike Score and Transit Score. You can see each city’s scores below.

Boston

Walk Score: 81Bike Score: 70Transit Score: 74

Philadelphia

Walk Score: 79Bike Score: 68Transit Score: 67

“Boston is a very accessible city for those who prefer or need to get around without a car. From the T trains, buses and commuter rails, to Zipcar, Uber, Lift and Hubway bike sharing, not to mention plain ol’ walking, Boston is easy to navigate sans automobile,” said Gulden.

Boston is Slightly More Educated

According to 2012-2016 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates, 85.7 percent of Boston residents have attained a high school diploma or higher. In Philly, 82.6 percent have done the same. Boston also continually earns a spot among the top 10 most-educated cities in the U.S.